Aegis of Azeroth
by Cyan Ryder
Summary: (Contains descriptions of violence and blood.) The Burning Legion is returning. Having retrieved a tome from Karazhan detailing the Pillars of Creation, Siiyan and Khadgar know they now have a fighting chance. But they can't do it alone. Siiyan must assemble a team to take the fight to the Broken Isles if they are to save Azeroth.
1. In Defense of Dalaran

Aegis of Azeroth – Chapter 1

"Get that book into Modera's hands in Dalaran. I'll join you soon. And ... thank you." Khadgar said.

Siiyan looked back at his friend, knowing he would be alright, but worrying nonetheless. He said nothing, only nodding at him before jumping through the portal provided for him. In an instant he was back in the Violet Citadel, where he was not that long ago when the Council chose to let the Horde mages back into the Kirin Tor. The first thing he heard was the clash of blades and the sounds of arcane energy exploding in the streets outside. He whirled around and looked out, spying multiple demons in battle with the mages of the city. Archmage Modera was standing not too far from him in conversation with some other mages.

"We can't let them get into the Citadel or the Hold, send more people to reinforce those areas, everyone else needs to do whatever it takes to drive them back." she said. The other mages nodded and hurried off to carry out her orders. Siiyan ran over to her, the book from Karazhan still in his hands.

"Not long after you left, the first wave of demons struck. We're holding them at bay ... for now. I'll keep this tome safe until we have a chance to study it. Good work in there, I should like to delve into the libraries of Karazhan myself one day. At least ... I think I would." She took the book from his hands and placed it into a lockbox beside her, placing a magical seal on the lock. "We could really use a hand out there. You've seen more combat than most of these people combined, you could really turn the tables here."

"Say no more, we'll push them back." He replied, nocking an arrow inot his bow, already on his way out of the building. He stood at the top of the steps, scouting out the demons that were rampaging through the streets. He spotted a tall Doomguard towards the fountain area, it seemed to be the leader of the small force here, take that one out and the others should go down easy.

A felstalker charged up the steps, leaping towards him with his jaws wide open, saliva spurting out in all directions as it was ready to close them around his throat. With quick reflexes, he drew back the string and let the arrow fly, the tip connecting with the creatures skull. At such close range the hound dropped, dead before it hit the floor. He retracted the arrow from the demons head, green blood dripping off the end, and oozing out of the hole it made in the creature. 'Just be sure not to drink it.' he thought to himself. He ran down the steps ducking under the swipe of a felguards axe. He turned, just in time to see the axe coming down towards him. He raised his bow horizontally, blocking the blow from cleaving him in half. But the felguard was strong, and was pushing down on him, the axe inching ever closer to Siiyan's face. He drew a shortsword from its sheath and arced it upwards, biting into the felguards forearm. It reeled back in pain when suddenly multiple blasts of arcane power collided with the demon, completely destroying it. He looked around and a small group of mages ran over to him.

"Commander, Archmage Modera sent us to aid you, what do you require of us?" one of them asked.

"The leader of the demons is over in the centre of the city, I need you to pave me a way to get there. Concentrate your spells on one demon at a time, take them out as quickly as possible." He instructed. The mages all nodded and set off down the street. Torrents of arcane energy blasted from the palms and staves of the mages, demons dropping all around as they were overwhelmed by the combined power of the group. Siiyan made use of his bow to take down more of the further away demons, firing with the precision and power of even the most senior elven archers, a pretty impressive feat for a human. The way was clear and all that stood before them was the doomguard towering above all of them.

"You can't win. In the end, all will bow before the Legion!" the demon yelled, felfire burning in his hands. It splayed its hands and the felfire hurtled towards them. One of the mages stepped in front of the group, raising a magical barrier to protect them, but he had underestimated the power of the blast. The demons magic smashed into the barrier, shattering it and hitting the mage in the chest at full force, killing him. Siiyan took an arrow with a black tip from his quiver and set it in the bow.

"As long as I'm still breathing, Azeroth will never bow to the likes of you." he spat, firing into the demons chest, piercing its dark heart. The demon laughed.

"Did you really think that would be effective against me?" the demon growled, reaching up and pulling the bolt out of it's chest.

"Not the arrow, no. But the poison that is now making its way around your body is doing a pretty good job."

The demons expression hardened beginning to charge towards the group, but it faltered and dropped to one knee as the poison from the black arrow began to take effect. Without instruction, the remaining mages in the group fired barrages of spells, ripping into the demons flesh. Siiyan fired some more arrows, each arrow tip infused with arcane energy, finding their mark on the demons body. He held up his hand, and the mages stopped attacking. They all looked curiously at the demon, waiting to see what would happen. The doomguard collapsed and with it's last breath, it spoke.

"This ... isn't ... over ..."

Siiyan cautiously made his way over to the demon, looking for any sign that the demon might still be alive. The demon's blood was leaking out onto the stones, it's wounds much to severe for it to survive. He turned to the group of mages.

"Secure the rest of the city then make your way back to Archmage Modera, the rest of them should be easy to deal with now." The group nodded and ran off down the street. Siiyan made his way back to the Violet Citadel, where he was greeted by Modera and Khadgar.

"This could have been a disaster if it wasn't for Siiyan." Modera said.

"Thank you, my friend" Khadgar said to him, "But I'm going to have to ask more of you I'm afraid. You're going to have to trust me on this."

"I've always trusted you Khadgar, I don't see any reason to stop now." Siiyan said to him.

Khadgar smiled, "That's comforting to hear. Myself and the Council will study the tome we retrieved from Karazhan, but you need to go on a recruiting mission."

"Recruiting? Who am I going to get?" he asked.

"That's up to you. You need a group of like minded people. People who would take this fight to the Legion at the source. Bear in mind, the people you need will come from all over Azeroth, from the Alliance and Horde alike. There is no one I trust more to get this done. I'm counting on you Siiyan."

Siiyan nodded at his friend and smiled. "I know a few people, and if they can't help, I'm sure they can point me at people who will."

"When you find them, send them here. We'll be moving Dalaran over the Broken Isles soon, we need to take the fight there before we get overrun."

Siiyan nodded once again and turned to leave.

"Siiyan... good luck." Khadgar said, and Siiyan departed.

Modera stayed silent for a moment. "Do you really think he can do it?" she questioned.

Khadgar sighed. "He knows the importance of working together to face this enemy. He did it on Draenor, I know he can do it again. If anyone is able to succeed it's him." He sighed again. "Now, let's get on with this tome, the sooner we know what we're doing, the better."

"Agreed."


	2. The Paladin

Aegis of Azeroth – Chapter 2

The white gryphon soared over the forest, the wind ruffling her feathers and her feet gently brushing against the canopy of the lush, green trees that covered the land. The passenger had his sights set on his destination, the large, stone-walled city that was approaching, the capital of his people, Stormwind. He thought about what Khadgar had said to him, what had been asked of him. Could he do it? He wasn't exactly feeling confident about it. He gave a sharp pull down on the reins of the beast and directed it towards the gryphon roost, where many other riders were constantly flowing in and out on their own mounts. The gryphon landed gracefully and Siiyan dismounted.

He took the gryphon over to a post in the stables nearby. It was a simple set up, a post to tie her on to, surrounded by a fence and straw covering the floor for comfort, and if it came to it, food. He tied his gryphon to the post, and gently stroked under her beak.

"Seems like I may be in over my head this time, Winter." he said to the creature. The gryphon, Winter, cocked her head and let out a quiet screech in reply to her master's comment.

"I'm going to need all sorts of people, most of whom I don't know how to even start looking for. This is going to take time, which I don't have." he continued. Winter responded to this by starting to nibble on his hand. She was fairly young for a gryphon, but loyal. He'd known her all her life from his parents farm.

"OK, fine." he said, pulling some food out of his bag for her. She spotted it and immediately snapped her beak around it, ignoring him now to focus on her food. "But at least I know where to start" he said, patting Winter one more time before heading down the steps into the big city.

The Cathedral District was busy with people, be it citizens of the city, visitors from other towns or most recently, refugees from Westfall, fleeing to the capital after their homes had been destroyed by the Burning Legion. They were starting to invade, and Westfall seemed to be one of their primary targets. Siiyan guessed it was because of the farms that supplied Stormwind with most of its food supply. Cut that off and the city would be vulnerable. Quite a clever tactic for such a barbaric group. He made his way to the Cathedral, which was being used as a medical centre and barracks for refugees.

If this group of his was going to succeed, he'd need people he could count on. Not necessarily people he could trust, but people that knew the stakes and knew that working together is the only chance for them to save their home. Luckily, there was at least one person he could trust, and then he spotted her. Beside the beds of refugees who had been injured, gently healing their wounds with wound bandages, along with the power of the holy Light; a young paladin woman, only two years younger than himself, with dark brown eyes, and light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. They looked so different from eachother, people would never guess they were siblings.

He made his way past the lines of people towards the bed. By the time he got to her, she was tending to a young girl, no older than nine.

"This bandage is infused with the power of the Light." she was explaining. "It will help make you better."

"But what about the bad men?" the child asked, eyes wide with fear, and tears rolling down her cheeks. She had seen things no child was ever meant to see. The destruction of her home and most likely the deaths of her friends, or family. No child should ever have to go through that.

"Don't worry about that now, you're safe here." His sister said placing an arm around the girl and gently stroking her shoulder. "There are brave heroes to fight back the demons, and they'll win, just wait and see."

"Delisia."

The paladin turned her head and smiled when she saw her brother there. But there was also another look in her face, relief. They hadn't spoken to eachother since before the demons started attacking. She was so worried that he'd been injured in an attack, or worse. Delisia called out to one of the other paladins nearby.

"Alicia, can you cover for me?"

The other paladin, Alicia nodded and came over to continue her work. Delisia walked over to Siiyan and put her arms around him.

"I was so worried you'd been caught up in one of the invasions." she said.

"Not yet, but I was there when they attacked Dalaran. We managed to push them back, but they're certainly not giving up."

They walked back past the waiting refugees and found a bench by a fountain for them to sit on.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"I didn't really, I was just hoping you were, glad to see I was right, I didn't want to find you out in battle with the demons."

"Yeah, I've thought about it, but I'm needed here too. These people need it, desperately." she sighed and looked at the masses of people coming in from Westfall. "So, what do you need me for?"

Siiyan looked over at her, surprised. "How did you know I wanted you for anything?"

"I know you Si, we grew up together. If you didn't need me you'd have dropped in to check I was okay, then fly off to fight the demons without looking back."

He smiled, she was right, it's exactly what he did before he went through the Red Portal to fight the Iron Horde. "Do you remember Khadgar?" he asked.

"The Archmage? What about him?"

"He wants me to get some people together. People strong enough to repel the Legion back to where they came from. Not just humans though, people from all over the Alliance, and the Horde. We have to work together if we're going to get through this."

Delisia looked at him. "And you want me to help you with that." she finished for him. Siiyan nodded but didn't say anything. She stayed silent for a moment, thinking about the decision. "What would the plan be?" she queried.

"We recovered a tome from Karazhan detailing Titan relics called the Pillars of Creation. Once we know where they are, we're going after them, and using them to stop the demons invading." he answered.

She was still conflicted, she loved her brother more than anything in the world, but her duties as a paladin told her that she had to stay, she can't leave the refugees hree, it wouldn't be proper.

"Si, you know I'd go with you to the end of the world if I had to, but I can't abandon these people, the Order still needs me here."

Siiyan nodded for a moment, he's been expecting this answer, but he kept going. "Look around you Lis." He said, calling her by her nickname. "These people are here because the Legion destroyed their homes. This is going to keep happening, and will only get wosre the longer we wait. It won't stop, unless we make it stop."

She sighed, of course he was right she knew that. "But i'm not..." she began.

"Not what? Good enough? He says one of the best paladins in the Order, and a talented fighter. If Tirion Fordring commended you like that, then you can't be so bad can you?"

She was saddened to hear the mention of Tirion, he had supposedly been killed at the Broken Shore. But he had said those things about her, he was her personal tutor for a time when she was still training a few years ago. She looked back over the refugees, seeing their pained faces. She could heal that pain for a time, but it would never go completely. She realised that now. The best way to protect these people was to help Siiyan and stop these demons from ever coming back, then the world will truly be safe from the threat of the Burning Legion.

"I'll help." She said, a new conviction in her voice. "Where do we begin."

"We still need many more people. I'm on my way to Teldrassil to find someone I know. I need you to do something rather dangerous though."

"Anything." She said

"I need you to go to these Legion invasion sites. Anyone battling there knows the threat of the Legion enough to fight back. But the important thing is that they know that they can't win this alone. I know I can trust you to do this."

"I'll head into Westfall and look out for people there. Some of the refugees are talking about two seemingly unstoppable warriors. If there's any truth to that I'll see about recruiting them."

Si nodded. "Good, we're still going to need a lot more people though. We have a lot more work to do. Are you ready?"

She looked at him, and nodded. "More ready than i've ever been in my life."

"Then let's get moving."


	3. The Priest (Pt 1)

Aegis of Azeroth – Chapter 3

Siiyan had always liked Teldrassil. It was always very peaceful, despite the odd satyr here and there. And it was here that he would find the next member of the team he so desperately needed to drive back the Burning Legion, at least, that's what he hoped. He entered the village of Dolanaar, the home of a friend of his, a Night Elf priest called Alannas. He spotted him over by the Moonwell, giving a lecture to a group of novice priests and priestesses. Siiyan leaned against the side of the building, folding his arms while he waited for him to finish.

"After the destruction of the World Tree Nordrassil, we lost our immortality. It was after this that we were forced to learn lifes hardest lessons. It is these lessons that are detailed in each of the Moonwell's waters." He looked up and made eye contact with Siiyan, smiling at him before continuing. "When the time comes, you will journey to these wells, and in turn, learn these lessons for yourselves. Dismissed." The novices dispersed, one or two stopping to ask their lecturer a question, and eventually, the priest made his way over to his friend. They looked at each other, smiled and shared a brief hug before Alannas spoke.

"It's been too long, my friend. What happened to you?"

SIiyan smiled to himself. It had been a very long time. When they saw each other last they were in Pandaria, helping Lorekeeper Vaeldrin search for the Pools of Youth. Alannas had accompanied the Lorekeeper, and he had just so happened to run across them.

"Well, everything just so happened to go wrong, so I had to go and fix it, you know me." He replied.

"Ha! That I do." He beckoned for Si to follow him, and they entered his house. "I heard about what happened at the Broken Shore. Tell me, what do you think of the Horde's actions?"

Si didn't take the bait. "Oh no, I'm not getting drawn into any more of your conflict resolution exercises."

Alannas smiled, appreciating the hesitation. "No exercise this time, just wanting to know what you think."

Siiyan sighed, painfully recalling the events of the battle at the Broken Shore. "They retreated, leaving us vulnerable to attacks from the air. But, I saw what they were up against on the ridge, they would have been overrun by the demons soon anyway. So they managed to save themselves. But if our positions were reversed, would we have done the same? I don't blame them for what happened if that's what you're asking. I wish others in the Alliance would share that point of view."

Alannas listened with eyes closed, nodding as he did so. "I'm glad you think that, it is that kind of mind you will need if you are to succeed in your task. Fighting the Legion is more than a one man job, the allies you'll need will be from unlikely backgrounds. Both the Alliance and Horde have failed, each in their own way, and your decisions will shape the way for both factions. You have a long and difficult path before you, with moments that will test all that you stand for. Meet these challenges head on and show courage, as I know you can."

Siiyan listened to this advice, nodding as he took it all in. "Will you help me?" he asked.

Alannas shook his head. "I cannot, not anymore. If I was a few hundred years younger, maybe. But I am old now, my time has passed. I fought the demons in the War of the Ancients, and in the Third War, each of these leaving their own scars. I'm not as strong as I once was, you'll be better off without me."

Siiyan closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. He was disappointed, but his friend was right.

"But I can send you in the right direction. Head into the Temple of Elune in Darnassus and speak to Tyrande Whisperwind, tell her I sent you. She can get you the help you need."

Siiyan held out his hand, Alannas took it and they shook hands. "Thank you, my friend."

"Good luck. I hope to see you again when this is over." Alannas said, as Si departed.

Siiyan walked down the path back towards Darnassus. He was upset that Alannas chose not to go with him. He was a good friend and an even better priest, but he was very old, like he had said, having seen the demons in their last two invasions of Azeroth. He trusted his decision to trust that Tyrande would get a suiotable replacement, so that will have to do for now.

He heard a commotion coming from over the hill to his right. He frowned, keeping low to the ground and slowly moving up to look over the top of the hill. He was shocked by what he saw, Satyrs, and a lot of them. They were massing for something, but what? Were they planning to attack Dolanaar, or Darnassus? This was very bad, he had to get word to the capital.

He slid back down the hill and back onto the path, starting to make his way towards the city. Then he felt a sharp pain in his back and stomach. He looked down to see the tip of a blade protruding from his stomach, coated red with his own blood. He grunted as whoever it was pulled the knife put and kicked him in the back of his knees, forcing him onto the ground. He clutched the wound on his front, hoping that he could keep of much of the blood in as he could. He rolled over onto his back to look up at whoever it was. He stared into the cold, dark eyes of a Satyr.

He had been careless, of course the Satyrs would have lookouts, they weren't stupid. One of them had spotted him and couldn't let him get back to warn anyone. The Satyr raised the blade, preparing to plunge it into his chest and finish him off. Siiyans vision blurred and the last thing he saw before blacking out was a volley of arrows strike the Satyr and heard footsteps running towards him.


	4. Brothers in Battle

Aegis of Azeroth – Chapter 4

The Light shook the ground, as the area around Delisia was consecrated in its almighty power. The group of Imps reeled back, giving her the chance to swing her sword in a wide arc, slicing into all the demons around her killing most of them, and injuring the others enough for the Sentinel Hill soldiers to finish them off. At last she had a bit of breathing room. She looked around and surveyed the damage. Buildings were burning in green fire, citizens of the town screaming and fleeing from the onslaught of demons. Delisia scowled, these demon bastards will pay for their destructive rampage, but that wasn't the only reason she was here. She was looking out for allies against the Legion, more specifically, the two warriors the Westfall refugees spoke of. She had no idea what they looked like, but she guessed she would know if she saw them.

"Is that all? I thought you demons would have given more of a challenge!" boomed a deep voice from over the hill.

"Come at me! My axe will drink your blood!" shouted another.

Delisia turned her head to the sound of the voices. Even if they weren't the warriors she was looking for, they certainly didn't have any love for the Legion. She set off up the hill, slashing away the smaller imps and felhounds that tried to attack her. She reached the top of the hill and looked out for the two people who had shouted out just before. There were masses of people below her, demons, guards and other adventurers like her who sought to help fight back the invasion. They were all fighting a fierce battle, red and green blood spraying in all directions.

Then she spied them, making their way up the opposite hill, carving a path towrds the Legions Commander. Two warriors, both covered in blood stained plate armour. One was dressed in red and silver, carrying a protective shield and a sharp sword. The other was all in black, with a horned helmet, and a vicious looking two-handed axe.

She ran throug the masive battle, using her sword to pierce the legs and hearts of demons as she did so. She got to the other side of the crowd, but a felguard stood in her way, axe held high ready to bring down on her. She side stepped, the axe missing her and crashing into the ground. Before the demon could lift the weapon again, she ran behind him and cut her sword through the back of one of his legs. It fell to one knee, grunting in pain. It swang a fist behind him, Delsisa ducked, but held her sword up and called upon the power of the Light, making the blade glow. The edge of the light-infused blade connected with the felguards wrist, slicing clean through. Its hand fell to the floor in front of her and the felguard let out a horrendous scream. Seeing her chance, she thrust the sword into the felguards back, the tip of the blade coming out of its chest, green blood dripping from it. The demon toppled over, crushing some smaller demons under its weight as it died. Delisia brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and continued up the hill towards the two warriors.

They had almost made it to the top. He swung his mighty axe, cutting three Imps in half, he instantly raised the weapon again, then brought it down on a felhounds neck.

"Watch out!" His friend stepped in front of him and raised his shield, blocking the blades of a wrathguard from cutting into his shoulders. The shield-bearer knocked the blades away and stabbed into the wrathguards stomach. It stepped back in surprise as the axe-wielder sliced into one of its legs, and the shield-bearer finished it with a swift stab in the chest. That was the last of the regular demons, all that remained before them was the Commander, an Eredar sorceress. They both stepped forward to confront her, and a young Human girl ran up behind them, ready to join them for the battle. They both looked at her with steely eyes.

"I hope you're capable girl, this fight won't be easy." The axe-wielder said.

"I got up here, didn't I? I can take care of myself." Delisia replied.

They both nodded then turned to face the Eredar. "I know you demons aren't the type to surrender, so we'll try to make you're death as painful as possible." The shield-bearer barked at her.

"It's the least you deserve after all you've done to my people alone!" the axe-wielder added, a new fire in his voice.

The sorceress looked at the three of them, and shook her head. "Ha! I do admire your spirit, but I'm afraid I'll have to dissapoint. I intend to keep on fighting here for a long time. See you all soon." she said, as she dissapeared in green smoke as she teleported away.

Delisia relaxed as she went, turning to see the majority of the remaining demons retreating or being defeated. She breathed a sigh of relief. The invasion was over, for now anyway. She turned back to the two warriors, but they weren't behind her anymore, they had already moved over to a nearby table to inspect their weapons and armour. She never paid much attention to what they looked like before, but now she ha the time, she inspected them closer. The shield-bearer was a tall Tauren warrior, with brown fur and a thick brown mane. The axe-wielder could have been anything under all that armour, but as he took his helmet off, she saw what he was. A muscular Draenei revealed himself from under the helmet. He had pale blue skin, and chilling, ice cold blue eyes. He was a Death Knight.

"What are your names?" she asked them both.

The Draenei said nothing and continued to work on his axe, but the Tauren rolled his eyes at his friend and spoke up. "My name is Kreighton Thunderhoof, and my bitter friend here is Dreyson Krenn. Who are you paladin?"

"Delisia Ridley" she responded.

"Well you are certainly brave to come here Delisia Ridley, this is a dangerous place, in even more dangerous times. I am impressed with your courage" Kreighton said. Dreyson grunted and shrugged in agreement.

"That means a lot, thank you. But actually, I came here looking for you two" she said.

This was enough to make Dreyson look up from his work and at her. "Us?" He asked.

"My brother and I are recruiting people, people with the skills and strength to fight the Legion at the source of the invasion. The refugees in Stormwind spoke of you both. An untoppable force against the demons here. I came looking for you to ask if you would join us in this mission."

Dreyson spoke imediately. "I have no interest in you or this crusade of yours girl. I've never worked well in teams, and I'm not going to start now. Now stop bothering me!"

Kreighton was a bit more thoughtful however. "Hold on, my friend. We both agreed that the reason we fight this war is to see it through to its end. With this girl and her brother, we have been given the chance to see that happen, and soon. Surely this is a chance we should take if it means peace for this world?"

Dreyson thought about what his friend said. "Who else is in this group of yours?" he asked.

Delisia listed them off. "So far, it's myself, my brother Siiyan, and hopefully one of his priest friends. Also, you two if you choose to come with us."

"And where else are you going to get allies from?"

"We'll need allies from all over, of all disciplines. From both Alliance and Horde, but I can see from you two that probably won't be a problem."

The two warriors looked at each other, Kreighton giving Dreyson a pleading look. Dreyson sighed.

"Very well, we shall join you."

Kreighton nodded at his comrade. "Thank you, brother."

Dreyson nodded and reached out his hand. Kreighton clasped it with his own hand and they shared a strong handshake.

Delisia looked on, impressed with the comradery between the two warriors. They had clearly been through a lot a battling together, and had earned each others respect through combat. If everyone they recruit could have that kind of outlook, then perhaps they had a chance.

"When you've finished up here, head to Dalaran, above Deadwind Pass. Seek out Archmage Khadgar, tell him I sent you."

"We will. We won't let you down, Delisia Ridley." Kreighton said, bring his hand to his chest and bowing slightly.

Delisia did the same back, and turned to leave, but Dreyson spoke up again.

"If it's knowledgable people you want, then there's someone here that you'll want to speak to." Dreyson said to her.

Kreighton nodded. "At the Eastern gate of Sentinel Hill, there's a small camp, it's very easy to spot. Talk to the leader there. It's definitely someone you'll want as an ally, rather than an enemy."

"Who, or what am I looking for?" She asked quizically.

Dreyson gave her a wry smile. "When you see her, you'll know." And with that, he turned back to his axe and didn't look back at her.

Knowing that was all she was going to get from those two on the matter, she nodded and headed for the gate. If it was someone she wouldn't want as an enemy, hopefully it would be someone with the weapons and skills needed to combat the Legion. She headed down the hill as she wondered who, or what it could be.


End file.
